Moscow (AFP) - US negotiators travelled to Russia on Thursday to present their plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but Moscow warned in advance it would refuse any temporary deal that gave Kyiv a “breather”.

Ukraine agreed to the plan during talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump pushes for a speedy end to the more than three-year conflict.

Russia has been grinding forward on the battlefield for over a year, claiming on Thursday to have driven Ukraine from the town of Sudzha in its Kursk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely give his assessment of the US and Ukrainian-backed proposal later on Thursday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

A plane linked to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff landed earlier at Vnukovo-2, a Moscow airport terminal often used to receive foreign dignitaries, Russian news agencies reported.

“Negotiators are flying in and indeed contacts are scheduled,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, without saying who was part of the US team.

Trump has expressed optimism that his team can secure a ceasefire, even as Kyiv and Moscow trade almost daily aerial attacks.

“People are going to Russia right now as we speak. And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said the fact Russia was yet to respond to the idea showed it did not want peace.

“Regrettably, for more than a day already, the world has yet to hear a meaningful response from Russia to the proposals made,” he said on social media.

“This once again demonstrates that Russia seeks to prolong the war and postpone peace for as long as possible.”

- ‘Temporary breather’ -

Setting out its red lines ahead of the talks, Russia ruled out foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine and mooted potential sanctions relief.

Moscow wants any settlement to be long-term and secure its interests, rather than a temporary deal that would give Ukraine a “breather”, Ushakov said.

“That is what we are striving for. A peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told a state TV reporter.

Ushakov called the 30-day ceasefire proposal a “hasty” plan that “is not in favour of a long-term settlement”.

“It would be nothing more than a temporary breather for the Ukrainian military,” he said following a call with Waltz.

Russia has also ruled out foreign peacekeepers being deployed to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire or long-term security guarantee for Kyiv.

Ukraine has asked its European allies to deploy military “contingents” on its territory once the conflict ends to protect against future attacks from Russia.

“It is absolutely unacceptable to us that army units of other states are stationed in Ukraine under any flag,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.

“Be it a foreign contingent and a military base… all this would mean the involvement of these countries in a direct armed conflict with our country,” she added.

- Battle for Kursk -

Russia meanwhile claimed rapid advances in the Kursk region – where Kyiv launched a cross-border assault last August.

The Russian defence ministry said it had “liberated” Sudzha along with two other settlements in the border region.

Sudzha, home to around 5,000 people before the fighting, was the largest settlement Kyiv seized after it launched its shock assault into Russia.

The Kursk region was one of Kyiv’s few bargaining chips in swapping land with Russia, which has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since it took Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale assault in February 2022.

Ukraine now risks losing its grip on the border region entirely, ceding dozens of square kilometres in the past seven days, according to military bloggers.

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief hinted late Wednesday some of its troops were pulling back in the region.

Putin visited the region on Wednesday for the first time since Ukraine launched its incursion.

Dressed in battle fatigues, he expressed hope his army would “fully liberate” areas under Kyiv’s control.

Moscow’s rapid advances in the region came after the US paused intelligence sharing and security support for Ukraine, although analysts and officials have cautioned against making a direct link.

Washington resumed its support for Kyiv ahead of the talks with Moscow.

Both Moscow and Kyiv kept up hostilities into Thursday.

Russia downed 77 Ukrainian drones overnight, its defence ministry said, while Ukraine’s air force said it downed dozens of drones fired at multiple regions.